Here is a success secret that most people don’t realize. For the ultra-successful, those who work what seem like crazy hours, are labeled “workaholics” and the success driven – it is not really about the money. In fact, after a certain level of success, money quickly becomes a secondary concern.

Why? Because if you are solely focused on just making money, you will eventually fall into your comfort zone and stop excelling. There are only so many toys, vacations, homes, cars, jewelry and clothes you can buy.

Here is some food for thought – in 2009 there were only 10,000 people worldwide making over one million dollars a year in actual income. That is less than 0.05% of the entire world population. Billionaires make up 0.0001% of the US Population. Even if you are making just $250,000 a year, you can live a very comfortable lifestyle: Very nice house, luxury car, provide for your family, have a safety net, vacation regularly, kid’s college fund saved, maid, nanny, cook and not have to really watch what you spend on the essentials.

The more I draw the more money I make. And I’m not an artist. I’m the CEO of Webmation and TakeWebOrders. I know it sounds funny. How can doing something creative like drawing make me more money?

Let me explain.

I am a firm believer that even as adults we must cultivate our creative sides. The arts and music have been proven to stimulate our brains and increase academic performance in children. Learning to play an instrument leads to a better understanding of math concepts, while drawing and other visual arts help with language development, coordination and spatial abilities.

In business, I’ve found when you take the time to do an artistic hobby, you get the following seven benefits: Read More

It was 4 pm. I had three pages of tasks left to finish. I could feel the acid churning in my stomach. I grabbed a box of tums and sighed in despair. I felt like a hamster running on a wheel.

I had started with a dream to achieve something great with my company. I was working hard and getting lots done. But for some reason I wasn’t happy. Soon my productivity decreased. I was having health issues due to the stress and my relationships were going downhill.

That is when I realized I was so busy focusing on my goal that I had lost sight of the reasons why I was trying to reach it. This issue is common with business owners. That is why so many get divorced and develop serious health issues while building their business.

Worse still is when they reach their goal and still feel unfulfilled. Their drive ended up being an attempt to fill a void.

I’ve found the easiest way to be fulfilled, avoid burnout and increase my productivity is to be balanced in all areas of my life. For most of us there are six main areas that need attention in our lives.

One of the best things about laptops is their portability. They have become powerful enough that it is no longer necessary for most of us to need a separate desktop. However one of the biggest limitations, especially for anyone doing graphics, design, photography or application multitasking on their computer is the small screen size.

Most laptops allow you to connect one external monitor to the vga (blue input) or dvi (white input) in the back of the computer. This allows you to extend your laptop screen to two screens, which causes both the built-in monitor of the laptop and external monitor to act like one giant screen. Once you go from one monitor to an extended desktop of multiple monitors… it is impossible to go back to one. Your productivity will increase dramatically.

Even with most desktops, one extra monitor is the limit even if you have multiple monitor inputs (vga/dvi/hdmi) because the video graphics card in your computer can’t handle more. The video graphic cards that allow multiple monitors (3-4) are much more expensive as well.

One of my business partners went this route and while it works great – he had to spend thousands of extra dollars for the setup. (Pictured above) After purchasing a new laptop recently, I stumbled upon a workaround to not only add multiple monitors to my laptop… it is allows you to add up to 6 external monitors to your laptop or even desktop. Since I already had the monitors, my total cost was only $60 to have a 3 screen computer setup.

To add multiple monitors to your laptop or desktop:

There are four types of people I do not tolerate in my life. It does not matter if they are co-workers, business partners, friends, strangers, clients or even family members.

Those who lie. Even small white lies. One of the things I love about my wife is that she is brutally honest… even when it comes at my expense. Those who lie or lie by omission are IMMEDIATELY removed from my inner circle. It shows a bad sense of character and weakness to me.

Those who gossip at someone else’s expense. Of course everyone is curious about others, it is human nature, but when talking about someone behind their back is negative it serves no purpose and it is just wasted breath.

People who are negative and put others down really get under my skin. They only see the bad instead of the good and have a hard time being happy because their rules to achieve happiness are so hard to meet. Most of them seem to have a sense of learned helplessness.

Hypocrites. This one grates on my nerves the most. Walk your talk or shut up. And you better not even think of trying to tell me what to do.

While I understand the psychology behind why they do what they do, I still don’t want to be around them or have them a part of my life.

For example: talking bad about someone else to feel better about yourself happens because it is easier to try to tear someone down then go up to their level. I even understand that most of the time this is a subconscious trigger for them and they will deny it as the reason if you confront them with it. They will make excuses to justify their behavior.

Once I lose respect for someone it is very difficult for them to get it back.

If you find yourself being one of the four types above, really take a look at why you are acting that way. I bet it boils down to wanting to feel liked and accepted; or to feel a level of power when you really feel a sense of weakness or helplessness. Jealously is also a feeling of being less superior to someone else, so it definitely falls within these categories.

The best way to combat these negative triggers and environmental responses is to: